—the watercourse that supplied the town. The commanders then called on the men to volunteer for the task, whereupon a number of brave and stalwart fighters stepped forward. Under cover of night they slipped into the city through the water—in the manner of ducks—and it is said that the first to enter was ʿAbd Allah ibn Mughaffal (1) al-Muzani. They made their way to the gatekeepers, rendered them unconscious (2), opened the gates, and the Muslims raised the takbīr. The army poured into the city from the time of dawn until the sun had risen high, and on that day they did not perform the dawn prayer until after sunrise. Al-Bukhārī (3) relates from Anas ibn Mālik: “I was present at the capture of Tustar, and it took place at the time of the dawn prayer. The people were occupied with the conquest, so they did not pray until after the sun had risen. I would not trade that prayer for a herd of red camels.” (4)
Al-Bukhārī used this report as evidence—along with Makhḥūl and al-Awzāʿī—to permit the delaying of a prayer when fighting makes it necessary. He also inclined toward this view, citing the incident of the Trench where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “They kept us from the middle prayer; may Allah fill their graves and their houses with fire,” (5) and his words on the day of Banū Qurayẓah: “None of you is to pray ʿAṣr except at Banū Qurayẓah.” (6) A group therefore delayed that prayer until after sunset, and he did not censure them. We have spoken of this earlier in the account of the Conquest.
To resume: when the city was taken, al-Hurmuzān fled to the citadel. A company of the champions we have mentioned, and others besides, pursued him. They hemmed him in within a corner of the fortress until nothing remained save his killing or theirs. After he had slain al-Barāʾ ibn Mālik and Majzaʾah ibn Thawr—may Allah have mercy on them—he said to the attackers, “I have with me a quiver containing one hundred arrows. No one of you can come near me but that I shall shoot him dead; not a single arrow of mine will miss its mark in one of you. What good will it do you to capture me after I have killed one hundred of your men?”
They asked, “What do you propose, then?”
He replied, “Grant me safe-conduct so that I may surrender myself to you, and then take me to ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb; he may pass whatever judgment on me he wishes.” They agreed. He cast aside his bow and arrows, whereupon they seized him, bound him fast, and kept him under guard (7) to be sent on to the Commander of the Believers, ʿUmar. They then took possession of the town’s wealth and stores, distributing four-fifths of it among themselves: every cavalryman received three thousand dirhams, and every foot-soldier one thousand.